Would This Be Cosidered Illegal?

If I were to say start a sight that taught people how to illegally download files, but stated on a landing page specifically that the information is for educational purposes only, would I be breaking the law?

Or would I have to show them how to download legal torrents and legal usenet files and let them do with the info what they will?

Stick to second option if you are concerned about legal issues. Go with first option, but you'll probably get into legal trouble when your site gets more attention.
For example some big movie sites have only links to movies, they do not host movies, they have copyright disclaimer, some of them even claiming users responsible for posting links, but their domains still get seized by FBI.

However...
If you want to include the illegal torrent tutorial, change it so that it's targeted towards people who want to protect their torrents. First include all of the details of how the process is done. Then put together some crap at the very end how to stop it.
Educational

If I were to say start a sight that taught people how to illegally download files, but stated on a landing page specifically that the information is for educational purposes only, would I be breaking the law?

you can do it with no problems if you register it with some Bullet Proof Chinese or Russian Hosting. They will get DMCA complaints that will be the same as sending letter's to Santa in the North Pole. However, Godaddy or Network Solutions will take you down faster than you can get ad clicks. Also be aware that they can file a claim against your domain but that could take years and really it sounds like you are fine, because you are discussing how it is done and with a well written disclaimer telling readers about the dangers, you are safe. I say do it, but make sure that your Hosting is solid and you may want to use a code name because the copyright claims are the new hobby for the US and Interpol.

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